Conestoga stuns Downingtown West to clinch state playoff berth

DOWNINGTOWN >> For a furious 32 minutes, Tuesday night’s District 1 Class AAAA second round game between Downingtown West and Conestoga was an old fashioned slugfest. Every rebound and every loose ball was like a piece of raw meat in front of some hungry pit bulls.
But in the end, the smaller and quicker Conestoga squad, led by point guard Daryl Caldwell, shattered Downingtown West’s dream of a district title as the Pioneers led start to finish and came away with a hard-fought 57-51 triumph.
The win puts Conestoga (19-7) into the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament for the third year in a row and into Friday night’s quarterfinal round at Lower Merion.
Downingtown West now enters the playback round, where it will host Upper Dublin, and must win two games to get a spot in the state tournament.
“We got out early rhythm and built a seven-point lead at halftime,” Caldwell said. “And we needed that because we played the game at our pace and not theirs. All week the coaches talked about playing at our pace and getting a body on them under the boards because they were bigger than us and we did that tonight.”

Andrew Larkin also had 14 points for the Pioneers, including four long 3-pointers. The Pioneers shot 18 for 36 on the night and limited the taller Whippets (22-4) to just one shot at the basket. Jack Baker and Angus Mayock were the big men on the boards for Conestoga and the pair assigned to Downingtown West big man Josh Warren, who was held to just seven points, all in the second half.
“Angus and Jack did a great job on Warren,” Conestoga coach Mike troy said. “They are two of the unsung heroes for us and tonight I thought their defense and rebounding was outstanding against a a very big and talented team in Downingtown West.”
Then, Scott Shapiro came off the Conestoga bench to score seven of his nine points in the second period to propel the Pioneers to a 27-20 halftime edge.
The Whippets kept making runs at the Pioneers but could never tie the game. With Conestoga holding a 47-39 lead late in the fourth quarter, the Whippets made one last charge at the Conestoga lead.
Warren scored in tight to make it a 47-41 game. Then, two straight times down the floor the Pioneers turned the ball over. Pat Kennedy drained a 3-pointer from the right side to make it a 47-44 game and Troy called for a timeout.
The two teams battled back and forth, but no points were scored and with 1:31 to play, Dom Guerrera

— who had 14 points to go along with seven rebounds — went to the line for a one and one. The first shot clanged off the rim and Baker rebounded the ball. Caldwell drove the lane and dished off to Larkin, who was fouled in the act of shooting and the senior drained both free throws to make it a 49-44 game with 1:17 to play.
The Whippets charged up the floor and looked for Warren inside. Baker slapped the ball away and then Guerrera picked off a pass and drove the lane but his layup rimmed out with 1:07 to play.
Charlie Martin was fouled and he went to the line for Conestoga, where he missed the front end of a one and one with 45 seconds to play, giving the Whippets a little life.
“It gout a little scary missing some free throws but we came through,” Larkin said. “It shows how much heart we have. This game was all about heart and who wanted it more. It is a great feeling to be going to states for the third year in a row and with this group of guys.”
Downingtown West’s Ryan Betley scored a game-high 19 points, and Guerrera hit a 3-pointer to bring West within three points with 27 seconds left.
But, Caldwell and Baker hit their free throws to secure the Conestoga win.
“We just did not come up with the 50-50 balls tonight,” said Downingtown West coach Jason Ritter said. “And Conestoga hit their free throws to win it. now, we have to dig down and make the state playoffs by winning some games.”

Conestoga 57, Downingtown West 51
CONESTOGA (57): Caldwell 4 5-6 14, Larkin 4 2-4 14, Baker 0 4-4 4, Martin 2 0-2 5, Mayock 2 0-0 4, Lezanic 3 1-2 7, Shapiro 3 3-4 9. Totals 18 15-22 57.
DOWNINGTOWN WEST (51): Betley 6 3-4 19, Guerrera 6 1-4 14, Warren 3 1-1 7, Gordon 3 0-0 6, Carson 1 0-0 2, Kennedy 1 0-0 3, Anderson 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-9 51.
Conestoga               9 10 15 17-57
Downingtown West 7 13 13 18-51
3-point goals: Larkin 4, Caldwell, Martin, Betley 4, Guerrera, Kennedy.